Heavy Pod Is Heavy Cast! Eden is finally back, but this time I’m derailing. We talk about new music from Dreadnaught, Inanimate Existence, Babymetal, Warforged, Xenobiotic, Flub, and Destrage. Then we talk about the Threatin lawsuit, Mayhem signing with Century Media, and Demons & Wizards coming back. Also some philosophy, cool people time with Detective Pikachu, Chernobyl, Charles Stross’s Laundry files, Hannu Rajaniemi’s Summerland and Re:publica. Enjoy!

Due to the way we’ve decided to divide up the time zones, correspondence with an international audience from the humble southern continent of Australia often feels akin to looking into the past. Yet, despite this perceived futurism, Australian culture often trails its American and European counterparts by some distance. So it is that, while the northern thrash revival has come and (more-or-less) gone, the Australian metal scene is currently experiencing the biggest genre boom it has undergone since thrash metal originally emerged in the mid ‘80s. Back then, we brought our own quality acts to the fold, most notably in the form(s) of Mortal Sin and Hobbs Angel of Death, and the Allegiance in the ’90s. Yet, while the style had effectively remained dormant since then, the last five-to-ten years have seen an explosion in the amount of world-class thrash metal bands to have emerged from these southern shores.

Caligula’s Horse is one of the forerunners in the wave of amazing Australian metal that’s been building up for the past few years. Their specific brand of alternative, progressive metal is fresh, dynamic and engaging. Their 2013 release, The Thief, The Tide and The River’s End, is one of our…

Hot on the heels of its immensely successful Progfest tour, which showcased many of Australia’s best up and coming progressive rock and metal bands, Welkin Entertainment returns with the Sonic Forge Festival, which will be held across three stages at Melbourne’s Esplanade Hotel on 15 December 2012. Welkin Entertainment…